This invention concerns the discovery of products and methods to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of conjugated carbohydrate constituents of living organisms which contribute to cell dysfunction and cell death.
Many seemingly unrelated observations made in the past, which were not understood and could not be understood, in terms of cell dysfunction, cell death and specific disease states can now be understood in the light of the methods and compositions of the present invention which defines for the first time the state of, and the consequences of, aglyco pathology, its products, as well as products and processes for its detection and treatment.
In one aspect of the invention there are provided peptides, in particular peptide constituents of aglyco 10B which are immunogenic epitopes responsible for the recognition of antigens by the body""s immune system. In one embodiment of this aspect of the invention there are provided isolated glycoconjugates comprising at least one carbohydrate associated with the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO.1 or SEQ ID NO.2. These peptide constituents of Aglyco 10B provide production in vivo of the specific antibody to Aglyco 10B, anti-Aglyco 10B (antimalignin antibody). In another embodiment of this aspect of the invention, the peptides, either individually or in combination, are included in a therapeutic composition for increasing the concentration of antimalignin antibody in patients in need thereof
In another aspect of the invention there is provided, a method of preventing or inhibiting the attachment of influenza virus particles to a human patient""s cells, comprising administering to the patient a therapeutically effective amount of a glycoconjugate to thereby bind to said influenza virus particles and prevent or inhibit attachment of the particles to cell receptors.
In yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of treating schizophrenia, comprising administering to a patient in need thereof a therapeutically effective amount of D-glucosamine-HCl to thereby increase the concentration of brain glycoconjugates in said patient.
In another aspect of the present invention there are provided monoclonal antibodies to the peptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO.2 and monoclonal antibodies to aglyco protein 10B.
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for diagnosing chronic viral disease associated with development of cancer in a patient, comprising detecting transformation to malignant cells by detecting abnormally elevated levels of antibody to aglyco protein 10B in the patient.